Little Pet
by underthenorthstar
Summary: Merle Dixon wasn't exactly who Hannah McKinnon had planned on spending the zombie apocalypse with.
1. Chapter 1

_**Merle is a great character, and he needs more fics! This one is just a little something I've been thinking about, its kind of AU, but I do have ideas for turning it into a multi chaptered story. Please let me know if you want me to try it!**_

_**I take no credit on anything Walking Dead related.**_

Merle Dixon wasn't exactly who Hannah McKinnon had planned on spending the zombie apocalypse with. Well, to be honest she didn't plan on there ever being a zombie apocalypse in the first place. But here she was, in the middle of one, with a backwoods hillbilly, of all people.

It was a complete accident they'd found each other, really. Well, rather he found her. It's not every day you lay down to sleep on the side of the highway only to have a giant redneck trip over you. To be fair, he'd lost a lot of blood from that missing hand, she couldn't exactly fault him for nearly crushing her. She'd have killed him right on the spot, if he hadn't mumbled a string of very choice profanities that clearly showed he wasn't one of those undead freaks.

She supposed it was a combination of her caring nature and downright loneliness that had made her strive to keep him alive. Hey, a crude backwoods hillbilly was better than no company, right? Not that he was much company anyways. Mostly he just lay there and hallucinated about some guys named "Daryl" and "Officer Friendly." Didn't matter if he could speak coherently, Hannah had been a selective mute since she was 16. Wasn't like she was gonna break that for him. She did wish they could get away from the highway. He was too big for her to move, however, so they'd stayed there in the brush by the highway, like huge targets for hungry geeks.

Of course, they hadn't been eaten. Some guy calling himself the Governor had come crashing into their little hideaway, and whisked them off to what he called "Woodbury." Merle was worse off then she was, she honestly thought he would die from infection and that would be that. But no, the doctor had been able to save him. She was thankful he was alive, it always hurt to see another human die, but she did not expect that she'd have much more to do with him.

How wrong she was.

As soon as they were both well, the Governor had questioned them. Where were they from? Were there others with them? How long had they been on the highway? Hannah had started to try to sign for a paper and pencil, but Merle suddenly spoke, spinning a tale of total lies. He told the Governor how she was his. They had gotten separated from their group when a herd attacked them, had to cut off his hand due to a bite, then they got stuck at the side of the highway due to his injury.

Hannah had been stunned, honestly. It wasn't hard to see that Merle was protecting her. In some parts of the new world, girls that didn't already belong to a man were a rape waiting to happen. Hannah had seen it first hand. If she already belonged to Merle, then she was basically untouchable here (she didn't know if anyone would try anything, but one never did know). She didn't know why he'd done it. Maybe his addled mind had registered her care while they were on the highway. Maybe he was just being nice. Maybe he just wanted to get into her pants. Whatever it was, she now was his. And that spun her life in a whole new direction.

He was an emotional cripple, and that was being nice. He was rude to everybody but the Governor, had a racist streak a mile wide, and a penance for violence. He never said much to her, except for the occasional command like "Woman, git me some dinner," or "Woman, my clothes is filthy, wash em." She didn't like being ordered around, but at least he wasn't berating her like he did other people. And he never lay a hand on her. It was like she was his weird little pet.

They somehow fell into an odd but comfortable routine. He'd be out with the Governor all day, she'd amuse herself around town whatever way she could. He'd come home, they'd eat, then she'd read while he cleaned his guns. Then he'd go out for drinks, and she'd go to bed. He'd come stumbling home at some odd hour, eat whatever she left our for him, then pass out of the couch. It never bothered her that they didn't really interact. They were just two random people, living together by complete and utter chance. Besides, she didn't think Merle was the kind of guy for small talk anyways. Despite all the weirdness of the situation, Merle was starting to grow on her.

One sunny day in March, things changed.

Two new people had just come into town. One, a scary looking African American, the other, a very sick blonde. Apparently, the blonde knew Merle. She'd been part of his previous group. That intrigued Hannah. She didn't know he'd come from a group. A group that had apparently also boasted his brother.

Merle had just gotten home from speaking to the blonde, and they'd just sat down to supper. It was the usual noise of clanking forks against plates, until Merle suddenly set down his fork and did something he'd never done before.

"I'm gonna go look for my brother."

Hannah was so surprised she dropped the butter dish. He'd never, ever said anything to her that wasn't a command. She stared at him, eyes wide.

Merle ignored her blatant stare. "Blondie gave me direction to an old farmhouse they were holed up in. Imma start there, maybe they're still there. If not, I'll find some tracks, keep looking."

Hannah slowly nodded, trying to process what he was saying. He was leaving. To look for his brother. And she was going to stay here. She was surprised that the thought made her slightly sad.

She made a motion to her wrist, tapping it like she was tapping at a watch face.

"When?" Merle knew exactly what she was trying to say. "I was thinkin' in a few days time. Gives me time to get some supplies together, and to getcha up to speed on your new weapon."

Hannah cocked an eyebrow at him quizzically. New weapon? Was he thinking that she needed a way to protect herself while he was gone? She certainly would be vulnerable without him there, but she liked to think she could handle her own.

Merle let out a chuckle at her raised brow. "Now now girlie, don'tcha go thinking that ol' Merle thinks of ya as some defenseless little girl. I know ya can be a little firecracker when ya need to be. I wasn't totally out of it on that highway."

Hannah started. He remembered the highway? That was so long ago, and he'd been so out of it! Not as out of it as she thought, obviously. She didn't know what to make of that. A part of her was mad he'd never said thank you. She'd kept him alive those 4 days, fed him, changed his bandages, kept the few walkers at bay. If he remembered, surely he should say something!

Her anger must have showed on her face, because Merle instantly reacted to it. "Come on woman, ya know I ain't the type to apologize," he grinned toothily at her. "In fact, I ain't never apologized in my life! I ain't gonna start with you."

Hannah sighed irritably. Of course he wasn't. Didn't mean she couldn't glare at him in disdain. Unfortunely, Merle found her glare rather amusing.

"Aw, come on, sugar," he laughed, waving his silver prosthetic at her. "Don't be like that. You keep pouting and ol' Merle may change his mind about taking you with him."

Hannah nearly fell off her chair.

"You really think I was gonna leave ya behind?" Merle continued as if he hadn't seen her just about crack her head on the floor. "Nah, think I'll take ya with me. Wouldn't do if I was with out my little pet. 'Sides," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "I might get lonely out there all by me lonesome."

Well, knock her down and call her stupid, but Hannah McKinnon was floored. Merle wanted to take her with him. Merle Dixon, the man who only did things for himself, who could be rude and violent and kill you in a second, wanted to take little mute Hannah on his mission to retrieve his brother. Like when he claimed her, she had no idea what his reasons were. She was pretty sure he wouldn't just drag her out there to attack her, he'd had plenty of opportunity for that and never touched her. So what was it?

Maybe it was the amount of time they'd spent together, Maybe it was the fact he'd never hurt her. Maybe it was that she was just damn well getting attached to the bloody redneck. Whatever it was, she found she didn't care why he wanted her to come. They were a pair now. Merle and Hannah, Hannah and Merle. It felt oddly natural to head out to the woods by his side, like they were Tonto and the Lone Ranger or something. The thought made her giggle.

She watched Merle pick up his fork and continue eating. He seemed to think the matter was closed, and really, it was. She would go with him. She would help him find his brother, or die trying. The world was a broken place, people needed to stick together now more than ever. She'd stick with Merle, come hell or high water. And she had a funny feeling he'd stick with her right back.

Hannah smiled.

She'd finally started to grow on Merle Dixon.

_**I know Merle is a little out of character, but I like to think he's changed a bit now that he's in Woodbury. Love to all my readers!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I decided to continue this, as the response to the first chapter was great! Please note the rating of this has become M. I will incorporate the rest of the cast eventually, and there will be multiple pairings. Thanks to my lovely reviewers, you know who you are!**_

_**Own nothing Walking Dead related.**_

If she was being completely honest, Hannah was glad to be leaving Woodbury. It just didn't sit right with her. The pristine buildings, the put together people, the serene calm…..it almost felt like a horror movie to her. The ones where a new couple shows up at the seemly perfect town, only to find out they've entered some crazy cult and they get themselves killed. Hannah wouldn't have been surprised if Woodbury turned into a cult. The Governor was just the sort of man to run one. There was something dark and sinister lurking beneath the shiny surface of his little town, and boy was she was glad she wasn't gonna get a chance to stumble upon it anytime soon.

She sat up on the defense wall, near the end so that she was out of the way, but so that she could still see both the men on the wall and the people in the town. Sometimes when she was bored she came up here to people watch. It was a great vantage point. She could see straight across Woodbury from her perch. She would sit for hours, watching people bustle around town, wondering about what their lives were like before the dead began to rise. She created a story for every person in town. Mr. Chekov and his wife were former Russian spies living a double life as model American citizens. Annabelle was a single mother whose husband had run off with his secretary. Billy and Paul were ER doctors, secretly dealing prescription drugs on the side. It was a fun way to bide the time.

The only person she hadn't given a story to was Merle. She liked to think it was because there were just too many good possibilities to choose from. Of course, the likely answer was that it was because she wanted to know Merle's actual story. She'd heard nothing, not even a whisper about where he came from or what his deal was. All she knew was he had a brother named Daryl. She considered asking the blonde from his old group, but that would have been an awkward situation. Her muteness tended to scare people away. Not Merle though. Hannah was quite positive that was one of the reasons he kept her around. She wouldn't talk his ear off. Hannah figured Merle had a pretty slim tolerance for incessant chatter.

She shifted slightly on the wall, craning her neck so she could catch a glimpse of her redneck companion. He was down near the gate, talking to the blonde. The blonde was pointing at a map, most likely giving him clearer directions to that farmhouse his brother had apparently been at. Although unlikely they'd find anything there, it was the best place to start. She assumed Merle was a decent tracker. He could probably locate something that would give them a clue of where his brother had moved on to. If he was even alive. Heaven forbid if they found him dead, or worse, turned. Hannah didn't want to think about that.

"Hey girl, git your ass down here!" Merle was suddenly yelling at her, beckoning her to come down and join him and the blonde. Hannah reluctantly slid off her perch and climbed delicately down to the ground. When Merle Dixon called you, you did not hesitate.

"This here's a map showing the farmhouse," Merle said as she walked up to the pair. "Blondie here managed to find it in storage. We'll take it with us when we go."

"You can call me by my name, Merle," the blonde rolled her eyes.

"Ah, where's the fun in that?" Merle grinned, folding up the map and handing it to Hannah.

Hannah pocketed the map carefully, her eyes shifting from the blonde to Merle. She pointed to the woman, then tapped her own chest over her heart.

"Oh, so you wanna know her name, do ya?" Merle chuckled.

The blonde looked confused. "That's what that meant? What's with all the pointing? Why can't you just ask? Can't you speak?"

Hannah sighed. People really needed to stop asking her that question.

"Hannah don't talk," Merle shrugged, answering for her. "Hasn't said a single word since the day we met, have yah, girl?"

The blonde looked at her skeptically. "Huh. Weird. Well, my name's Andrea, for the record. Nice to meet you, Hannah."

Hannah nodded, thankful that Andrea did not pry. It was a nice change.

"I've gotta go get us some more supplies rustled up, you ladies can git to know each other better," Merle winked at Andrea. "Until next time, sugar tits."

"Still as charming as the day I met him," Andrea rolled her eyes at Merle's retreating back. "How in the world did you end up with him?"

Hannah shrugged, unsure of how to really tell the story without writing it down. Communicating with people who didn't know her was hard. They couldn't pick up clues that others could. Merle was exceptionally good at reading her non verbal guestures and cues. He always seemed to know what she was thinking. She supposed that 8 months together had helped.

"Okay, be secretive then," Andrea crossed her arms. "I just hope he's treating you alright. Merle Dixon isn't exactly known for his manners or, uh, gentlemen like treatment of women."

That made Hannah scowl. It really shouldn't have, she knew Merle could be abrasive and rude, and had probably taken advantage of a few women in his day. But he'd never laid a hand on her. He'd never even shown even the slightest interest in taking her to bed. The fact that people could make snap judgments about their odd little coupling rubbed her the wrong way.

Oh, she knew what people around Woodbury said. That she was Merle's little slave, his 'way of getting release', if you please. The thought made her want to vomit. She was getting a bit fond of Merle sure, but sex with him? No thank you! He didn't seem to need it from her either. She figured his one remaining hand was doing the job well enough. Granted, she'd seen the way he'd been staring at Blondie's ass, so sex wasn't totally out of his mind. Maybe he just preferred blondes to redheads. Totally fine by her.

"Er well, I think I'll go find the Governor," Andrea shifted her stance, obviously uncomfortable with Hannah's silence. "See you later, Hannah."

Hannah watched her walk off, not sorry to see her go. Being around people sucked. She liked being alone, or with Merle. At least he didn't look at her like she had three heads.

Well forget the blonde, she thought. Soon she and Merle would be out braving harsh emptiness to find his brother. She'd be leaving Andrea, the Governor, and everyone else in this stupid place behind. The thought did not make her sad. In fact, it made her quite happy.

Goodbye Woodbury, hello world.

_**Feedback is appreciated!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Wow, the response to this story is amazing! Love to all of my wonderful readers and reviewers, to all who have favorited and followed! You are all awesome! I may be needing your opinion on some ideas I have, keep an eye out for my questions lol.**_

_**I take no credit on anything Walking Dead related.**_

The day of their departure dawned bright and sunny. Hannah had been awake since before dawn, packing and re-packing their canvas rucksacks. They had to be sure they had everything they needed for the expedition, and she was determined to leave nothing useful behind. She had to resort to stealing a few things, which she felt kind of guilty about, but hey, whatever they needed to stay alive.

Merle had left just after the sun was up to go speak to the Governor one last time. Hannah knew that the leader wasn't too happy with Merle leaving him. Merle was a valuable member of the Woodbury Protection Squad (as she'd named the Governor's group of henchmen), and him leaving was going to put a big hole in the team. She'd overheard the Governor and Merle arguing more than a few times about it. Somehow, Merle had managed to come out on top. They were leaving, and although he wasn't thrilled, the Governor was apparently not going to stop them.

She finished packing their sacks for about the three hundredth time, throwing one on her back and carrying one in hand. She doubled checked to make sure she had both her hatchet and her new pistol strapped securely to her belt. She honestly hadn't been thrilled about receiving the gun, but Merle had insisted. If she lost her hatchet or needed a quick emergency kill, the gun would cover her, he'd said. He'd made her practice with it for a few days, having her shoot cans off the defense walls. She was an alright shot, but she still preferred her hatchet.

Once she was satisfied she had everything, she made her way down towards the town hall. Hopefully Merle's chat with the Governor wouldn't take long, she wanted to get on the road before the sun got too high and hot. She walked briskly, ignoring the townsfolk casting odd glances at her. A tiny redhead carrying two packs, a gun and an axe wasn't a sight they were used to seeing. Well, just wait till she had a big hulking redneck with a prosthetic sword hand joining her. They wouldn't even know what to do with that picture. She smirked at the thought.

"So today's the day huh?"

Hannah turned her head to see Andrea walking beside her. She gave the blonde a nod. Andrea wasn't all that bad. A little naïve maybe, and sometimes a bit stubborn, but mostly alright. She'd helped Merle teach Hannah how to shoot, so they'd spent a little time together. It hadn't been as awkward as Hannah had thought it would be.

"You guys are lucky you're going in the spring," Andrea continued talking. "If it was winter, you'd have to cuddle up with that big bastard to stay warm." She smirked at the redhead.

Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, you know you've thought about it," Andrea chuckled. "Merle obviously has some weird thing for you, he treats you differently then I've ever see him treat anyone. I'm betting you have some weird thing for him back."

Hannah stopped and gave the blonde her best "Are you freaking kidding me" look. No, she did not have a thing for Merle. As she thought before, being with him in that way made her shudder. And she was positive Merle did not think of her in that way either. First, Merle Dixon seemed like a man built for meaningless sex, not love. Second, he'd never even showed the slightest iota of interest in her or her body. Third, he was pretty much old enough to be her father. Damn, why couldn't people accept her status of "weird little pet" and be done with it?

"Fine, don't believe me," Andrea threw up her hands in defeat. "But I bet you that shiny new gun of yours that you're gonna see I'm right by the end of this excursion. You better go though, I can see Merle waiting for you on the steps."

Hannah had seen him too, and sped off before Andrea could make any other ludicrous statements about her and Merle.

"Bout time ya got here," Merle grumped at Hannah as she skidded to a stop in front of him. "We're killing daylight, woman, give me that pack so we can git a move on."

Hannah handed him the rucksack, watching him struggle to get it on with one hand. She hated to see him like this, unable to do even the easiest of tasks. Sometimes, in the privacy of their little house, he'd permit her to help him. But out here, with the Governor standing right beside them, she knew offering to help would be a disastrous idea.

"I really wish you'd reconsider this Merle," the Governor sighed, a look of displeasure on his face. "You're risking your life for something that you may never even find."

"He's my kin," Merle said almost wearily, as if he had had this conversation many times before, and was getting tired of it. "I gotta try, don't I?"

The Governor looked like he very much wanted to dispute that, but instead he said "I guess you do." He turned away. "Now, shall we go let you out of the gates?"

They tramped down the stairs and over to the only gate in Woodbury. Hannah noticed many of the townspeople had stopped their daily activities to watch them leave. There was no cheering or smiling and waving. They all stood silent and somber, like they were watching a funeral procession. Maybe they were. It had definitely occurred to Hannah that she could die on this trip. She hadn't been in the outside world in a long time, it could have gotten a lot worse since her interment in Woodbury. Was she ready to accept the fact that she might soon join her long dead family in the afterlife? Was she really, truly okay with that? It was a question she didn't know the answer to. Sometimes, she felt that dying would be okay. All the horror, pain and suffering of this world would be over, and she would only feel peace. But then she would look at Merle, and the thought of leaving him alone made her heart hurt. Of course, he'd probably be just fine without her, but she liked to think that her death would cause him at least a little grief.

The only person waiting for them at the gates was, surprise surprise, Andrea. Hannah assumed she wanted to wish Merle good luck, because although it seemed she didn't like him too much, she gave off the impression she had somewhat liked his brother. The blonde smiled at all of them, her gaze lingering a tad longer on the Governor. This did not go unnoticed by Hannah.

"Well well well," Merle smirked. "Looks like our dear friend Blondie here has come to say goodbye. You gonna miss me, sugar?"

Andrea rolled her eyes. "You wish, Merle. Just figured someone ought to see you crazy kids off." She turned to Hannah. "Don't let this idiot get you into too much trouble. Keep your head up and be alert. This is a crazy thing you're doing, but I know you can come out of it on top. Don't ever just lay down and give up, okay?"

Hannah nodded, slightly taken aback by Andrea's words. They were full of a kindness she wasn't used to. She suddenly wished she'd had a little more time with the blonde. Perhaps they could have even become friends.

"Alright, time to open the gates," The Governor announced, reaching over to unbolt the last thing that lay between them and the unknown. They swung open slowly, almost in protest, as if they didn't want anybody to be going beyond them. It made Hannah nervous.

So quick she almost didn't feel it, she felt something fleetingly warm on her arm. She looked down abruptly, but nothing was there. Still, she knew that a hand had briefly been laid on her. Someone had sensed her nervousness, and had let her know subtly that it would be alright. It wasn't the Governor, he was by the gates and would never do such a thing. Andrea was almost next to him, too far away to reach her. That left…

Merle. Merle had read her feelings, and had let her know she was not alone. That brief pressure of his remaining hand had told her that he was there, and they would face this together. She sucked in a breath, suddenly overwhelmed by all the feelings rushing through her. She looked at Merle, but he was staring straight ahead, eyes focused on the dead horizon. She could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

And in that moment, Hannah's question was answered. She wasn't going to die if she could help it. She wasn't ready to accept that fate. Like Andrea had said, she was never going to give up.

And with that, she strode out into the emptiness, Merle following close behind her.

_**I promise there will be more exciting stuff in the chapters to come! Thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thank you all for the fantastic reviews! I love all of my reviewers, you guys are great! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

_**Oh, and I have a question of you readers: Would you like to see Hannah and Merle maybe get romantic, or should they remain platonic? Let me know what you think!**_

_**No credit on anything Walking Dead related.**_

The sun was high and hot in the sky by the time they stopped for a rest. They'd started out tramping through the thick Georgia woods, but were now moving along the underbrush right beside the major highway. It was a risk getting near the road, but Merle had pointed out it would be harder to get lost if they stuck to it. Hannah had to agree with him. The map they had was good, but the woods were thick and one could easily lose their way. They made sure they kept just slightly off the highway, in case a herd of walkers was coming through.

Hannah sat down on a large stone, wiping the sweat off her brow. It was hot for a spring day. She hoped that maybe the heat would slow the walkers down. They'd only seen a couple so far, and had managed to slip by them unnoticed. Merle sat on a fallen tree just across from her, his prosthetic glinting in the bright sunlight.

"Sure is damn hot out here," he grumbled, rooting around in his pack for his water canteen. "I'm gonna drink all this here water before we even get really going."

Hannah, who was taking a drink out of her own canteen, nodded. They had to be careful with their water. Although there was lots of streams around, who knows whether the water was actually fit to drink or not.

She squinted up at the cars on the highway behind them. Maybe they should head up there to take a look around. It was only day one of their journey, but she was already thinking about their supply stock being depleted. It would eventually happen. Better to overstock now then to risk running out later.

She cleared her throat to get Merle's attention, then pointed up towards the cars. He caught on immediately.

"Good thinking, girl. We got lots of stuff, but maybe there's more there we could use. Lemme eat something, then we'll head up."

They ate a meager lunch, then climbed up the small hill and over the guard rail onto the highway. It was littered with vehicles, all of them rusting away under the Georgia sun. Hannah shivered. It felt kind of like they were walking in a graveyard. Most likely every person from each one of these cars was either dead or a walker. What a horrible way to go, she thought. Trapped in your car, unable to escape. She suppressed another shiver.

Merle was already rooting through the trunk of one car, muttering to himself as he rummaged around. Hannah decided she better keep watch, so she climbed a top of a big blue minivan and sat herself down. Merle would probably get ticked at her for not helping, but she felt uneasy about not having someone keep a look out. Actually, she was starting to downright regret suggesting they come up here. They were too exposed.

Merle had started to move away from her perch, slowly working his way up the road. She strained against the sun to see him. Sheesh, she should go looking for a pair of sunglasses in one of these cars. She could faintly see his outline against a big van about 500 yards from where she sat. Blinking rapidly, she noticed he was starting to head back to her. She frowned. That was an awful short scavenge. Maybe he was tired, or too hot. Suddenly she froze. Another outline could be seen against the sun. And another.

She began to panic. Where was Merle? She squinted even harder, but all she could see were slouched figures slowly heading towards her. There had to be about 15 of them. Not a big herd, but big enough. Damn this bright sun! She could barely see anything!

She lay down flat on the roof of the van. Perhaps they wouldn't see her. Maybe they'd just move on. But then she remembered Merle was still down there. Her heart thumped erratically. Had he found a place to hide? He was a big man, there wasn't much cover for him her. She started to feel sick. Merle was a good fighter, but she doubted he could hold 15 walkers off at once.

They were right near her now, she could hear the shuffling. She held her breath, praying silently for her and Merle's safety. Oh please, let them be okay. Please, let them survive this.

And then something clamped down on her ankle.

Her shrill scream rent the air as she felt herself being pulled backwards off the van. She twisted in vain, trying to break free from the iron grip that held her. She could smell rotting flesh and hear the snapping of decayed teeth. Desperately, she reached at her belt blindly for her hatchet. She managed to pull it out, and with a sudden burst of strength, twist around to a sitting position. With out even looking at the walker, she brought the hatchet down on its arm, slicing through the flesh. It howled as it fell back, half its arm still attached to her leg. Another walker quickly took its place, snapping and growling as she attempted to pull herself back up the van.

Without warning blood came spurting up from just to the right of her, and she whipped her head around to see Merle viciously gouging a walker right in the eye socket. It fell to the ground, and he quickly dispatched of two more walkers that were right beside him. Hannah grabbed her hatchet and began hacking at the walkers that were trying to climb on her left side, her weapon slicing easily into their rotted skulls.

In 5 minutes they were done, all the herd lying on the ground surrounded by their own blood. Hannah was frozen to the top of the van, the walker hand still attached to her leg. It had been so long since she'd fought for her life, the experience had left her shaken. She hiccupped, feeling tears start to prick at the back of her eyes. What had she gotten herself in to?

She felt the van heave as Merle hoisted himself up beside her. Gently, he prized the walker hand off her leg, tossing it onto the bodies below. He made her turn her calf over, checking for scratches. When satisfied he saw none, he sat back and simply looked at her.

"Ya'll right, girl?" he questioned, squinting at her in the sun. "Ya haven't seen any action for quite a while, must have scared ya. Betcha every walker this side of Georgia heard ya scream."

Hannah sniffed, shaking her head apologetically. She made a gesture as if she was zipping her lips.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Merle shrugged. "I know ya was just caught off guard."

Hannah nodded, suddenly feeling the tears at the back of her eyes rush forward. Before she could stop herself, she let out a strangled sob. Hastily she covered up her mouth, but the tears kept on coming. She didn't want to cry in front of Merle, but she couldn't help it. Reality had hit her hard. She'd gone soft in Woodbury. Before, she wouldn't have screamed. She would have just turned and killed, easy as that. But her time in the town had weakened her. Was she really going to be useful on this trip? Or was she simply a burden? Merle was right, half of Georgia probably heard her scream. She couldn't afford to make that mistake again.

"Ah, come on now, don't cry," Merle shifted uncomfortably. "I never did know what to do with a cryin' woman." He raised his hand, awkwardly patting her on the back. " Uh, there there, I guess. Uh, shush, don't cry? Is that what I'm supposed to say?"

Hannah let out a giggle through her tears, her heart lightening at his awkward attempt at consoling her. She reached over and put her hand on his knee, letting him know that his attempt was appreciated.

They sat like that for a long moment, his hand on her back, hers on his knee. Hannah's tears had stopped, drying on her cheeks in the hot sun. She could feel his hand burning her skin through her t shirt. Daring to look at his face, she found he was staring at her hand on his knee, as if in shock to find it sitting there. She realized it was the first time she had every really touched him. And come to think of it, it was the first time he had really touched her, like more than a brief pat on the arm.

"Uh, best be getting off this road," Merle suddenly said, taking his hand off her back as if burned. "Another herd might come through, better get back into the brush."

Hannah nodded, watching him slide off the van. She could still feel where he had touched her, and that made her slightly uncomfortable. Merle Dixon's touch should not feel like it was burning a hole through her clothes, and it wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling…

"Ya gonna sit up there all day like live walker bait? Or are you comin?" Merle's impatient voice broke through her thoughts.

She shook her head, clearing her mind of all things Merle related, and slid off the van to follow him.

_**Reviews are love!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Love to all my wonderful readers and reviewers! Special mention goes to BrazenHussy, whose review literally made me laugh out loud! Thanks for all your suggestions guys, I am keeping them in mind! Enjoy!**_

_**Own nothing Walking Dead related.**_

It took them another two days to reach the farmhouse. They were exhausted, dirty, and hungry. After their encounter with the herd on the highway, the walker sightings just kept coming. Hannah couldn't even remember how many they killed. They spent their first night in a tree, a night that Hannah was eager to forget. It was cold and cramped, and almost impossible to get comfortable. Merle had, in a rather oddly gallant gesture, offered to watch all night, as he "ain't getting comfortable in no damn tree." The second night they managed to find an abandoned smokehouse, and although still smelly, it was loads better then the tree. Their days weren't really any easier. It seemed like walkers were everywhere. They'd even lost their sack with all the food in it trying to escape a herd. Hannah wished they had brought a vehicle. But the Governor had refused to give them one, and it was too obvious to try and steal one.

But now they were at the farmhouse, and surely it would be a better night. The house was beautiful, Hannah thought, even though it was starting to fall into decay. The acreage was huge, and boasted fields, a riding ring, wells, a generator shack, and the remains of what appeared to be a very large barn. In the corner of the front yard were some battered tents and a bloodstained RV. Hannah reckoned that was where the group had stayed. Until they were overrun of course. Remnants of burned bodies still lay scattered around, a last reminder of the carnage that had occurred on the once peaceful land.

Merle insisted on scouring the land first thing. Hannah knew he didn't want to waste any time in finding clues about his brother. Although she was totally wiped, she found herself searching through the abandoned campsite. The look on Merle's face pushed her past her exhaustion. It was a look of desperation, of a man on a frantic search. She didn't like that look on him. Even more, she didn't like that she didn't like that look on him.

"This here was our tent," Merle kicked a lump of fabric on the ground. "I'd recognize that thing anywhere. They were here. Blondie has a good memory."

He moved on to inspect the other tents while Hannah made her way to the RV. After prizing the door open, she was met with an overwhelming stench of death. She gagged, and quickly shut the door.

"Hey, none of that gagging!" Merle said almost rudely, coming over and literally hip checking her out of the way. "You smell a body, you gotta check it. Could be Daryl!"

Hannah rubbed her hip angrily, really wishing she could remind him she didn't know what in the world Daryl even looked like. But then she thought of his desperate face, and she sighed, checking her anger.

"No, not him," Merle announced after a quick sweep. His eyes flickered to her hip, and she thought she saw them soften slightly. "You go see if the house has anything for us to eat. I'mma check those bodies by the barn."

Hannah nodded, watching him stride away towards the pile of rubble. How he could even tell that a burnt, rotted body was or wasn't his brother she didn't know. But she knew this was important to him, that he had to look. She couldn't imagine not knowing whether you're family was alive or dead. She knew hers was dead. She'd killed them herself. But Merle didn't know, so he had to look. It made her heart hurt, to be honest. For Pete's sake, a lot about Merle lately was making her heart hurt. And she was still thinking about that moment up there on the highway. Merle hadn't touched her like that since, but a tiny, minute piece of her subconscious was screaming for him to do it again. She continually squashed it, repulsed by the fact that Merle Dixon's touch had made her feel something. She had to get a hold of herself.

The house proved to be clear of walkers, which was a relief. Hannah managed to find a few cans in the pantry that would do for a small supper. She opened them up, and sat in the dusty living room waiting for Merle to return. He came in about an hour later, collapsing on the arm chair across from her.

"No sign of my brother," he sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Well, I know he didn't git himself killed on this here farm, but where did he go next? What happened after they were overrun?"

Hannah couldn't answer. Instead, she slid a tin of tuna and a tin of pears across the floor to him. Merle ignored it, continuing to rub his face and mutter to himself. Hannah began to pick at her own tins, constantly glancing up to see what Merle was doing. He made no move to pick up the food. She frowned. He'd had a rough day, he should be eating. After about 10 minutes of her eating alone, she set down her tins and timidly stepped towards him. He made no acknowledgement that she had moved. She walked quietly until she was right in front of him, slowly bending down to pick up the tuna tin. He'd eat if she had something to say about it. She straightened herself, gently placing her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

Without warning, his prosthetic came flying up, knocking the tin straight out of her hand. It caught her on the edge of her mouth as she tried to back away, and she felt her lip split painfully. Merle was suddenly on his feet, a hint of madness in his eyes.

"Why can't I find him, eh? Why is he hiding from me?" He roared, swinging his arms wildly. "Where are you, Darylina? Where'd you run off to, you little pussy punk? Ol' Merle's coming for you, and your ass better watch out, baby brother!"

Hannah slid into the corner, eyes wide in terror. She had never seen Merle like this before. He was wild. He was angry. He was dangerous. She swallowed nervously, the metallic taste of her own blood heavy in her mouth

"That's right, Darylina!" Merle continued to rant, blue eyes blazing. "I'mma tan your hide for leavin me in Atlanta! Kin don't do that to each other! I'm gonna beat ya so hard…." He trailed off, having finally noticed Hannah tucked into the corner.

His eyes swept over her terrified face, coming to rest on her bloody mouth. He stood staring for a long moment, mouth open. Hannah barely dared to breathe. And then his shoulders sagged, and as if someone punched him in the gut, the fight suddenly seemed to leave him.

"Shit, look what you did, Merle," he whispered to himself, his fists clenching at his sides. "You hit her, you hit her, you stupid bastard…"

Hannah watched as he reached into his jeans pocket, pulling out an old rag that looked like it had seen cleaner days. He looked at her nervously, fiddling with the rag in his hands. She could see on his face that he wanted to come over and help, but that he was afraid to. Her heart twanged for the second time that day. He hadn't meant to hurt her. He was just so upset and frustrated about his brother that he'd gone and lost it for a moment. In fact, she mused, it was the most emotion she'd ever seen him express. She'd lived with him for so long and he'd never raised a hand to her. She could trust him here.

Her eyes must have shown her trust, because before she knew it, he had crossed the floor and was kneeling in front of her. With surprising tenderness, he began to wipe the blood off her face. She suddenly realized she had never been this close to his face. She took the opportunity to study it.

It was not a young face, and it bore many signs of hardship and trials. But she had to admit it was a handsome face, in a sort of rugged way. Strong jaw, shaped nose, blue eyes as clear as a summer sky. High set cheekbones, a firm mouth with thin pink lips. Just enough stubble to pass as more than a five o'clock shadow. Hannah had never noticed any of this before. It made her stomach do a strange sort of swoop that she didn't understand.

And then Merle's fingers gently brushed the bare skin of her neck, and she had to choke back a gasp.

Electric was the only way she could have described it. She felt like she had just been touched with a live wire, and the current was running wild through her body. It made her legs shake and her skin break out in goosebumps. Her neck absolutely burned, the sensation amplified times a million from when he had simply touched her shirt covered back. She was confused. Merle had touched her skin briefly before, with little arm pats and such. So why did it fell this time like she had a wildfire running through her?

Before she could collect herself, Merle had pulled himself away and was back over by his chair. He was looking at her like he had never seen her before, his fingers on his good hand twitching oddly. She saw his Adam's apple bob nervously. Had he felt it too?

She wasn't about to ask him, and he certainly wasn't about to tell. He looked at her for another moment, then picked up his food and disappeared, muttering something about "first watch." Hannah stayed in her corner, wrestling with what had just happened. Did this mean she was, dare she say it, attracted to Merle? She'd never felt a spark like that before, never. And that was from only his hand! Imagine if….

No, she shook her head angrily, don't even go there! She didn't need to be thinking about that. But as she reached for her forgotten food, she couldn't help but wonder:

What would it be like to kiss Merle Dixon?

_**Seriously though, I'm sure Merle has a legion of fangirls who are wondering the same thing lol.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello all! Thanks again for the reads and reviews, always appreciated! This chapter was hard to write, it took a lot of thought lol. Wasn't sure if this was the right direction to take things, but I went with it. Hope you like it!**_

Hannah awoke slowly, the heat she was cocooned in tempting her back into slumber. She yawned luxuriously, reveling in the fact that she hadn't woken up with frozen feet and a stiff back. Thank goodness for the farmhouse, she thought. Thank goodness for a bed, for warm blankets, for the incredible warmth she was experiencing.

Her eyes few open. The warmth had shifted. And she became acutely aware that her source of heat was not just the old quilt on top of her.

Now fully awake, she could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest against her back, soft puffs of breath hitting her skin upon exhalation. His mangled arm was thrown over her waist, the other one cradled under her pillow. Her feet were tucked carefully between his calves, explaining why they hadn't frozen. There wasn't an inch of his body that wasn't touching hers, including…..

She shut her mouth tightly, suppressing the squeak of surprise forming on her lips. With her backside firmly pressed into his hips, she shouldn't have been surprised at all. But it was still a bit of shock to feel Merle Dixon's morning wood poking into one's ass. She lay still, wondering if she should try to get up, or if she should just lay her and pretend this wasn't happening. But seriously, how did this happen? She remembered going to bed while Merle was still outside on watch. He must have come in, crawled in without waking her up for her turn, and fell asleep. But why? Why would he come into her bed? Did it have something to do with their close encounter last night? She felt an involuntary shiver run up her spine at the thought.

Merle suddenly let out a grunt, causing Hannah to freeze abruptly. He didn't wake though, simply pulled her tighter to him before settling again. Hannah was confused and torn. A part of her wanted to stay here, wrapped up in his warm, very strong arms. A part of her itched to get away, to run from him and the confusing feelings that were swirling within her. And there was even a little part of her that wanted to see what would happen if she turned in his arms and pressed her lips to his.

She finally settled on at least trying to get out of the bed. Slowly, so she wouldn't wake him, she carefully lifted the arm that was wrapped around her, giving her just enough room to slide out. Once on her feet, she quickly shoved an extra pillow under Merle's arm, giving him something else to hold on to. Her heart clenched when he snuggled into the pillow like he had with her. He looked very peaceful and young in sleep, all the hard lines erased from his face. She was immediately overcome with such a strong desire to crawl back into the bed that she literally ran from the room, practically flying down the stairs. Once in the kitchen, she stopped to calm her racing heart.

This was getting ridiculous. She had lived with him for so long without any hint of anything more than awkward camaraderie. Thinking of him in any other way had invoked disgust and disbelief. But now, she felt oddly different. Maybe being with him wouldn't be so bad. He was rough and coarse sure, but deep down, there was something good and warm inside. He'd just buried it beneath layers of pain and hurt and betrayal. When they were together, she could see glimmers of it rise to the surface. And she found that she wanted to nurture that goodness, wanted to bring it out into the sunlight where it belonged. She took a shaky breath. What did it all mean?

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs, causing the redheaded girl to quickly compose herself. She watched Merle descend into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes with his good hand. He stopped when he saw her, and let a crooked half smile form on his worn face.

"Mornin' girl," he rasped out, voice still laced with sleep. "Ya got anything for breakfast?"

Hannah moved shakily to the pantry, pulling out the first few cans she could see. She set them on the table, watching nervously as Merle sat himself down in the nearest chair, eagerly tearing into the food.

"Sit down girl, ya gotta eat something too," he said with his mouth full, pointing at the chair beside his. Hannah lowered herself into it slowly, scooting a few inches towards the opposite edge of the table. She couldn't be that close to him. Not after last night and this morning. This did not go unnoticed by Merle, who gave a big swallow and frowned.

"Somethin' wrong girl?" he asked, his eyes flickering over her face concernedly. She saw them land on her still swollen lip, and they darkened slightly.

"You're probably still mad at me for that," he pointed to her lip. "I understand. Was an accident, but still…." He trailed off.

Hannah shook her head violently, trying to tell him that no, she wasn't mad at him for that. Like he said, it was an accident. She'd just been standing too close.

"Then what is it?" Merle sighed. "You look like a squirrel who knows its about to be dinner. Something's up girl, and you best be tellin' ol Merle what it is."

Suddenly Hannah felt herself getting angry. As if he didn't know what was bothering her! He was the one who crawled into her bed, who held her close! How could he just sit there and pretend like it hadn't even happened? Was he that ashamed of what he'd done that he couldn't even admit it to her face? How could he assume that the sudden change in closeness wouldn't affect her?

She started to rise from her chair, determined to storm off, when he let out a great big sigh, and said "You're upset about our sleepin' arrangments, aren't ya."

Hannah felt the breath whoosh out of her lungs. She was suddenly glued to the chair.

"Course, I understand," Merle continued as if he hadn't noticed. "What would a pretty young thing like you see in a man like me? Bitter as anything, mean, old and ugly. I'm surprised you ain't up and run away long before this. Kept expecting ya to. Everyday I'd wake up and wonder if you'd gone and left me. Moved in with one of them young boys back in town. They'd be better suited for ya then me." He looked down at the table.

Hannah sat still as a stone, not quite believing what was spilling from his mouth. She wanted to motion to him that she didn't think of him as old or ugly, but she couldn't move.

"Liked you from the moment I saw you on the highway," Merle continued to stare at the table. "Little red haired angel, keeping me from dying. Thought I'd return the favor when we got to Woodbury. Damn, never thought we'd end up living together. Never thought I'd actually start enjoying comin' home to a woman. Then when I found out about Daryl, the thought of leavin you there was like stickin a knife right into the jugular- painful and twisting. So I asked ya to come. And you did. And it was all good, but last night," he suddenly looked right up at her, blue eyes flashing. "Last night, I just couldn't stop myself. Wanted to know what it'd be like to hold you in case I never got another chance. Now I ain't saying I love you, Dixons ain't built for that shit, but a good woman is hard to come by these days, and damn, Hannah, you're a good woman!"

He stopped, shoulders heaving from the effort of his speech. Hannah remained still, absorbing his words. It was all too confusing, it was all so unlike Merle. The Merle she experienced would never spill his guts like that. She didn't know what to make of it. She didn't even know what to make of her own feelings. She was so utterly lost and confused about the whole situation, it was overwhelming. He sat looking at her expectantly, and she felt all the pressure of the situation come crashing down upon her. So she did the only thing she could think of doing.

She ran. Out the door and down the steps and across the yard. She could hear Merle yelling at her, telling her to stop, but she kept going. She needed to get away, needed to think and process what had just happened. Merle's shouts soon faded away as she found herself in the forest behind the generator shed. She finally stopped, leaning against it to catch her breath.

Tears came unbidden from her eyes. What had she just done? Merle had, in a move of unnatural humanness, spilled his guts to her. And she had run. She had run away from the man who had been nothing but kind to her. Whether she had feelings for him or not, he did not deserve this. She was a terrible person, unworthy of anybody's feelings. She had to go back. Had to try to explain herself, to express something of the mess she was feeling inside. She turned around to run back.

She didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

All she felt was a sickening crunch, and then the world went black.

_**Gasp! Reviews are love!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**First off, more love to all my readers and reviewers! You guys keep me going! Hope you like this chapter, I'm excited for where this is going to take the story! Enjoy!**_

"Well, well, well, what did ya bring us here, Erik?"

"Found her down by that old farmhouse. Pretty little thing, ain't she? Reckon she'll fetch us a good price."

"Anybody with her?"

"Nah didn't see nobody."

"Good. Move her to the far tent, and I'll tell the boss she's ready for inspection."

"You got it."

Price? Inspection? Hannah's bruised brain could not process what was going on. She'd woken up blindfolded, with a massive headache and no clue where she was. Or who she was with for that matter. The two voices were decidedly male, that was all she knew. She felt herself being hoisted into a pair of arms, jostled uncomfortably for a while, and then set down on a lumpy mattress.

"You stay there," her carrier drawled. "Boss man will be here shortly." He let out a low chuckle, which sounded anything but friendly.

Hannah lay on the mattress, trying to force her battered brain to work. Okay, she was handcuffed and blindfolded in a strange tent. There were at least two men here, but most likely more. One of them had obviously struck her on the head (hence the headache), and taken her back to his camp. She furrowed her brows. What had she been doing before she'd been struck?

A chill ran through her as she remembered. That's right. She'd been running from Merle. He'd found his heart somewhere and had confessed it to her, and she'd up and run away. She felt a dry sob rise to her lips. If only she had not been such a coward. Merle probably thought she found him repulsing, and that she'd abandoned him. Just like he feared. Oh, she was a monster. If only she could tell him she was sorry. If only she could tell him she wasn't disgusted by him, just confused. He made her feel so many things she never felt before, and it scared her. That's why she'd run.

Her inner thoughts were interrupted by the tent door unzipping. Hannah could here multiple footsteps entering the tent. She lay still, waiting.

"Well, looks like you done good this time, boys!" A deep voice said softly, somewhere near the foot of the mattress. "Stand her up, let me get a good look."

Hannah felt herself suddenly being yanked up violently by her arms. She yelped in anger and pain, striking out blindly with her unbound legs.

"Easy there, girlie," the deep voice soothed. "No need for that. Now turn her in a circle, boys. Make sure she doesn't kick you." He let out a low laugh.

Hannah was again jerked violently around, her two captors forcing her around in a lopsided circle. Once finished, they maintained their iron grip on her upper arms, making her wince in pain.

"Good, good," the deep voice sounded pleased. "She'll do just nicely. Take her blindfold off now, let me see her eyes."

Hannah felt her blindfold fall away, and she blinked rapidly against the bright light. Slowly, her eyes began to adjust. She saw that the bright light was not the sun, but a kerosene lantern set on a table in the middle of the tent. There was nothing else in the tent, save for her mattress and some dirty blankets in the corner. She let her eyes roam over everything, until they stopped on the man that was standing in front of her.

He was a big man, tall and muscular, with long black hair and a dirty beard. His mouth was cruel and unkind, his black eyes flashing with something very unfriendly. Hannah felt a cold shiver run through her. She was definitely in trouble.

"Ah, green eyes!" the big man clapped his hands. "Well now, this young lady is truly perfect. We'll get a good profit off her boys." He stepped right up to Hannah, his foul breath falling onto her face. "Such a pretty girl. Shame I don't get to keep you." He ran a long finger down Hannah's cheek.

Hannah jerked away from the contact, glaring at him with all her might. No one was allowed to touch her like that. No one but Merle. She felt white hot anger course through her, a small snarl escaping her lips.

But the big man just leered at her, motioning for his two cronies to let go of her. They tossed her unceremoniously onto the mattress, the three of them walking out of the tent. Hannah heard the zipper go up, and a lock click.

She struggled to sit up, her bound hands making it difficult. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why she was here. Now that her mind was clearing up, she knew that these men were intending to sell her for her "goods". For pete's sake, the sex slave trade had survived the zombie apocalypse. She had to get out of here. She had to get back to Merle. No way was she letting her body be sold to some disgusting pig who was getting tired of just being friends with his right hand. She twisted her wrists in the handcuffs, attempting to slide them off.

"That's only going to hurt your wrists."

Hannah nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked around the tent for the source of the voice. To her surprise, the pile of dirty blankets suddenly wasn't just a pile of dirty blankets anymore. A girl had emerged, skinny and pale amongst the grey flannels. She blinked at Hannah almost curiously; her wide blue eyes a tad unnerving.

"I tried to do that originally," the girl continued speaking, nodding to Hannah's hands. "All I got was bloody wrists. Don't worry, they take them off after a day or so, if you behave."

Hannah nodded slowly, her eyes wandering over the strange new girl. She couldn't have been more than 16, with long blonde hair and an almost angelic face. She looked tired and hungry, dark circles showing themselves under her big blue eyes. Hannah guessed she was another "item" for sale, and that she'd been with these guys for at least a little while.

"You don't say much, do you," the girl commented, seemingly unfazed by Hannah's careful once over. "That's okay, its just nice to have someone here. I miss being around people. Well, decent people anyways."

Hannah let out a small laugh at that. The girl was right, those men were definitely not decent people. And the poor girl looked so young, so innocent. It made Hannah's blood boil to think that there were people out there who would harm someone that looked so, well, harmless. Hannah briefly wondered if the guys had done any "sampling" of their goods. That thought just made her madder (and a tad bit frightened, to be honest), so she pushed it out of her mind.

"Did you come from a group?" the girl asked. "I did. Got taken when I was out picking some berries. Stupid really, they told me to stay close, but I wandered off like a total idiot."

Hannah shook her head, raising one finger as an answer.

"Only one other person," the girl confirmed. "Well that sucks, now they are all alone out there. At least I know all my people have each other."

Hannah sighed. It did suck. Not that Merle couldn't take care of himself, but the thought of him being alone was almost unbearable. Like he said, he'd gotten so used to being around her, she didn't know what her sudden disappearance would do to him. Especially since he probably thought she totally hated him. She felt her heart lurch. Oh, did she ever miss him. His crooked smile, his blue eyes, the way he looked first thing in the morning, his touch….

"You got a name?" the girl interrupted her thoughts, scooting herself and her blankets closer to the mattress. "Figure if you're my new roommate, I better know your name."

Hannah gave the girl a small smile, and motioned for her to give her her arm. The girl obliged, and Hannah gently traced out her name along the pale skin of her forearm. She had to do it a couple of times before the girl got it.

"Hannah," her new friend beamed. "Well, that's just such a pretty name. Well, Hannah, welcome to wherever we are. Maybe now that you're here we can figure a way out of here."

Hannah gave another small smile. Well, if she had to be stuck in this crappy situation, at least she had someone to be stuck in it with.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you my name," the girl rolled her eyes at her own forgetfulness. "My name is Beth. Beth Greene."

_**I know Beth is portrayed as kind of shy and weak on the show, but I'd like to think that a whole winter of being on the run has toughened her up a bit lol.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Here we go again! Thanks for sticking with me guys, you are awesome as always! Don't worry, Merle's gonna be back soon. Promise!**_

_**Own nothing walking dead related.**_

The next four days were probably the worst in Hannah's life.

She remained inside the dirty tent, only allowed out on escorted bathroom breaks. They were given only one meal a day, and an astonishingly small portion of water. Hannah figured it was because the men wanted to keep them alive but without much energy. That way they couldn't try to fight.

But Hannah wasn't one to lay down and give up. Andrea's words still rang clear in her head. So she attempted to give the men a hard time when dealing with her. Of course, they gave her a hard time right back. Anytime she spit at them, they slapped her round the head. She had tried to kick one guy, she had gotten a hard fist to the gut. Beth tried to get her to stop, but Hannah was determined. She would not be an obedient captive. Even if it killed her.

"You need to stop this," Beth sighed, pressing the edge of her blanket to a nasty cut above Hannah's right eye. "You look like one of them, one of those walkers."

Hannah looked down at herself. Beth wasn't lying. Her skin was caked with dirt and grime and blood, and there were a smattering of big purple bruises no matter where you looked. Her clothes were torn and bloody, her hair matted and wild. She imagined if she could see her face it would look pretty bad too.

"We gotta figure out how we're gonna get out of here, and you getting yourself beat to a pulp isn't helping," Beth sat back, a look of pleading in her eyes. "If you don't' put up a fight, they won't touch you. Please Hannah, stop all this."

Hannah looked away, not wanting to look at the girl's innocent face. Truth be told, she didn't think there was a way they could get out of this. If they tried to run, they'd surely be caught. There were too many men to try to kill them all. Plus in their weakened state, most likely they would be unable to get far or defend themselves. This was their last stop. Unless someone came swooping in to rescue them, they were resigned to stay here. That's why she fought. Maybe she couldn't get out of here, but she could still fight here. She could still hold her head up, say she wasn't beaten down.

Damn, how she missed Merle these past few days. It ate at her constantly, the heaviness of his missing presence. She'd gone so long always being with him, that even a few days apart was killing her. If only she hadn't run away! She'd beaten herself up over that so many times. If she'd only stayed, she'd be with him now. Screw her confusing feelings. If she had a choice, she'd rather be confused and around him then confused and not around him. He was like an iron anchor in the crazy world. Always constant, always there. A solid rock to lean on. Here, she had nothing, no one. Sure, Beth wasn't the worst company, but she wasn't Merle. Hannah wanted Merle. She wanted him to come crashing through the brush, kill all these stupid idiots, then gather her up in his arms and tell her everything was okay. That he was here now, and they would be together.

It was just a fantasy though. Hannah knew Merle had no idea where she was, and was probably out looking for his brother anyways. Despite his confession to her, she was sure he would pick his brother over her. Blood was thicker than anything, after all.

"Don't look so sad," Beth interrupted her reverie. "Everything will be okay. I know it will. We'll get out of this, don't you-"

But she was cut off by the tent flap being ripped open, and the man known as Erik stepping through. He grinned at them sinisterly, making his way over to where they sat. Hannah pushed herself to her feet, glaring daggers at the man.

"Hey, no fighting now, girlie," Erik chuckled, his little beady eyes sweeping her over. "You've got a date with the boss man. Seems he's deemed you unfit for when we sell. You know what that means, don't ya?'

Hannah continued to stare at him, although she could feel her insides begin to shake with fear.

"It means you get to stay here with him. If he finds you worthy, that is." He took a step towards her. "Guess tonight he's planning to find out."

Hannah's eyes grew wide with horror. And then everything happened all at once.

Beth suddenly lunged for Erik, clawing at his face with her hands. The man howled, taking a step back and raising his arm to protect his face. Hannah took the opportunity to dart around him towards the tent exit. She made it about half way through before she was grabbed around the waist. Erik pinned her against him, his arms way too strong for her struggles to mean anything.

"You ain't going nowhere," he growled in her ear. "You two whores are gonna pay for this, just wait until- AHH!"

Hannah felt his arms release their grip. She whipped around to see Erik slumping to the ground, a shiny knife sticking out of his back. Beth was standing behind him, looking utterly horrified.

"I grabbed the knife from his belt," she whispered. "He was gonna hurt us, I had to do it! Oh, what have I done?"

Hannah grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her away from the body. There was no time for whimpering. They had to make their escape. Now.

She started to run for the nearby tree line, aware of the shouts coming from behind them. Erik's scream had not gone unnoticed. She could hear footsteps hurrying, they were coming after them. She ran faster, dragging Beth behind her. If they could make it to the trees, they could disappear….

A bullet abruptly flew by her head, the shot ringing out loudly in the dark night. Beth screamed. Another bullet, another loud shot. Hannah pushed even harder, her legs aching and her lungs screaming. Beth let out another bloodcurdling scream, and Hannah felt her hand slip from hers. She turned to grab the younger girl, but it was too late. Beth lay twisted on the ground, a giant bloodstain growing on her dirty dress. Hannah let out a strangled sob, and dropped to the ground beside her.

"G-get out of here," Beth rasped, blood bubbling in her mouth. "I'm done, this is where I go. You save yourself."

Hannah shook her head, tears splattering down onto Beth's dying face. She went to place pressure on the girl's chest, but Beth feebly resisted.

"No," she whispered. "It's over. Get out of here before they catch you." She smiled a faint smile up at the redhead. "It was nice to know you, Hannah. Keep clarity in your mind and love in your heart. Goodbye."

And her pretty blue eyes became glassy, and Beth Greene was no more of the world.

Hannah sat by her body, numbness creeping over her. She hadn't known this poor sweet girl that long, but losing something so pure and innocent was heartbreaking. Beth had such hopes of returning to her group, of seeing her family again, and now they were dashed. She'd been good company for Hannah these past few days, tending to her bumps and bruises, telling her stories, curling up with her for warmth at night. And now she was dead, lying face up in a pool of blood, a giant hole where her heart used to be. Hannah felt the urge to be sick.

A gunshot startled her back to reality. She jumped up, bracing herself to run. More shots rang out, but she felt no bullets fly by her. She frowned. The men were not shooting at her anymore. She could hear shouts and screams coming from the camp, but none seemed to be getting closer. She looked back at the camp, straining her eyes to see what was going on.

Her eyes widened.

Walkers.

Tons of walkers. Where they'd come from, she had no idea. But a herd was descending onto the camp, tearing into the group of men who'd held her captive. She'd never been more grateful to see a herd in her life. She took a last look, preparing to leave, but wait….that man in the middle, he looked familiar….

"HANNAH! HANNAH! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Hannah let out a gasp. Merle!

Without a second thought, she was flying towards the melee. The fact that she didn't have a weapon didn't seem to matter. All she wanted to do was get to Merle.

He was in the middle of the fray, beating back walkers as they surged into the camp. She picked up a branch lying on the ground and swung at the walker nearest to her. It went down with a thud. She swung again, taking out another one. And another. And another. She was on autopilot, on kill mode. She barely paid attention to the screams of the camp men as they fought for their lives. All she could see was Merle, there in all his glory, wielding his silver arm like a kind of beacon, calling her home. She let out a cry.

Merle heard it, and before she could even kill the next walker he was barreling towards her, walkers flying out of the way like nothing. She felt his good arm close around her waist, and with a mighty bellow, he swung her up under his arm and began to run.

"YOU AIN'T EATING MY WOMAN TONIGHT, YOU DIRTY BASTARDS!" he yelled, using his apparatus to dispatch of the few walkers that were trying to follow them. "SO LONG, GEEKS!"

Hannah let out a strangled laugh from under his arm, tears of relief streaming down her face. Merle kept running, the walkers getting farther and farther away. Hannah bumped along in his hold, not caring that she was gonna bruise, not caring that her hair kept catching on everything, not caring about anything except the fact that she was finally back where she belonged.

Suddenly she felt Merle ground to a halt. She was tossed onto her feet, and before she could do anything, pulled forcefully into the arms she'd dreamed about.

"Thought you was dead," Merle sighed, squeezing her gently against him. "Thought you was dead. Oh Hannah, MY Hannah, you're alive, you're alive!" He suddenly pulled back, looking frantic. "You ain't been bit, have ya?"

Hannah shook her head, watching Merle's frantic look melt away into one of relief and happiness. He smiled that crooked smile down at her, his large hand coming up to gently rest against her cheek. She drank him in, her own smile plastered firmly in place. He was here. Merle was here, with his crooked smile and blue eyes and strong arms and warm chest. She was safe now. They were together again. And it suddenly came to her.

Her heart belonged here. Her heart belonged to Merle. And her heart was full.

She let out a happy sob, the realization washing over her like sunlight after a rain. There was only one thing left to do now.

And that was kiss him.

_**Yay Merle's back! And they're getting intense….oooh! Sorry I killed Beth, it seems she dies in a lot of fanfics, poor girl. Please review if you can!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Great response to the last chapter! Guess you guys were glad to see them back together lol. Thanks to you all! Now on with the show…**_

_**Own nothing Walking Dead related.**_

Before she could lose the nerve, before Merle could open his mouth to ruin the moment, Hannah rose up on her tiptoes and smashed her lips against his. She felt him tense in surprise, lips frozen and unmoving. She let her mouth linger, anxiously waiting for his reaction.

It took all of 5 seconds to come.

His mouth opened greedily under hers, his surprisingly warm lips overtaking hers in earnest fervor. His good hand moved to cradle the back of her head while his prosthetic lay across her back, trapping her against his body. Hannah let out a tiny sigh of pleasure, her own small hands splayed across his broad chest. Kissing Merle was like licking a live wire. It was intense and shocking and completely overwhelming. She could feel the electrical current running all the way down to her toes. He kissed her with so much passion, passion she never knew he had. She let it wash over her, let it soak into her every pore.

All too soon, Merle pulled away. He looked down at her, blue eyes flashing with desire and lust and something else she couldn't quite place. It made her shiver pleasantly.

"You better have meant that, girl," he growled softly, tugging gently on her red hair. "Kiss a man like that, and it better have meant something."

Hannah smiled up at him, reaching back to take his good hand out of his hair. She brought it down to her chest and placed it gently over her still racing heart. It was her way of saying yes, it meant something. Yes, she'd finally seen the light. Yes, she was his.

Understanding broke over Merle's face, and he let his trademark crooked smile shine.

"Well now, miss Hannah, guess that means I get to kiss ya again," he let out a chuckle. "And any other dame time I want to, for that matter. Your Merle's girl now," his voice softened, "You've really always been Merle's girl."

Hannah beamed, his words filling her with a kind of happiness she'd not yet felt in this cruel new world. She was Merle's girl. It felt good to think that.

Merle leaned down to deliver another smoldering kiss, then straightened up with a more serious look in his eye.

"We gotta get moving," he said. "That herd could still be moving. Gotta get somewhere safe. Come on."

He grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her deeper into the trees. They tread in silence, mindful of the many dangers that could befall them at any moment. Well, Hannah hoped Merle was at least being mindful. She was having a hard time focusing on anything else but the feeling of his lips on hers. Good grief, if she had known it felt like that to kiss him, she would have done it a long time ago. She thought back to the morning she had woken up next to him, how a part of her had wanted to kiss him then. She should have just done it. Then all this mess wouldn't have happened. She shook her head. No use thinking about that. She was with Merle now, and that was all that mattered.

They journeyed for a couple of hours. Hannah had no clue where they were going. It didn't seem like Merle was leading her back to the farmhouse, which was probably a good thing, as there really wasn't any reason for them to be there anymore. They just needed a place to hold up for the night, as dark was starting to fall around them. Then in the morning, they could figure out what their next move was.

Finally they stumbled upon an abandoned motor home, much like the one that had been on the farmyard. This one, however, was free of corpses and smelled a lot less nasty. They quickly got in, Merle securing it as best he could while Hannah searched for food. After a meal of beef jerky and marshmallows, they climbed up onto the roof with some pillows and blankets. Merle tried to get Hannah to go sleep in the bed while he took first watch, but she resisted, instead snuggling into his side. There was no way she was sleeping in that bed alone. She craved closeness to Merle. He didn't seem too upset with her decision either. He wrapped his mangled arm around her, his good one resting near his ever trusty pistol.

They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, just watching the trees sway in the slight breeze around them. Then Merle cleared his throat.

"Was looking for ya for four days," he began, still staring out at the trees. "I did find those bastards' trail, but they were sneaky, and it eventually disappeared. Stumbled around blindly for a bit, looking for any sort of clue. Finally, I got lucky. Found one of their lower men out scouting. I caught him and forced him to tell me where the camp was." He paused, looking down at Hannah with a slight smile. "I'll spare ya the details of how I did that."

Hannah nodded, grateful. Although a bad man, she did not want to hear about what Merle had done to the lower henchman.

"Anyways," Merle continued, "I was contemplatin' how I'd get you out of there, with all them men, when I got sniffed out by a herd. Must've been like 50 of them, all snappin and snarlin. And then it came to me. If I could lead the herd to the camp, we'd have a chance. So I did just that. And thank my lucky stars, it worked. They chewed up them idiots, and I got ya."

Hannah let out a shudder. It had been a risky plan. Merle could have easily been overrun. Or she could have gotten caught in the middle of it all. She burrowed deeper into his side, sending up a prayer of thanks that everything had worked out.

"Nobody, uh, touched ya, did they?" Merle asked, his shoulders tense. Hannah shook her head, and his shoulder visibly relaxed. "Good. Bad enough that they beat on ya. Deserved what they got, bastards."

Hannah didn't want to think about what it would have been like if she'd actually spent the evening with the boss. He would not be kind and gentle, that was for sure. She found herself wondering what kind of lover Merle was. Was he raw and animalistic? Rough and dirty? She had a hard time believing that he'd be slow and gentle, but stranger things had happened. She was suddenly overcome with an intense desire to find out. If she felt like flying after only kissing Merle, imagine what the sex would be like…

"You okay, darling?" Merle broke in. "You look kinda flushed."

Hannah blushed, instinctively cowering into the blankets. That pushed her closer into Merle's very toned body, which did nothing to help calm her down. Good grief, she thought, this was going to be a looooong night.

In the end, Merle fell asleep after only a few hours of watch, snoring lightly on the mound of blankets Hannah had pushed around him. She wasn't at all tired, so she let him sleep while she watched the rest of the night. It was quiet, for which she was very happy. They both deserved a night of quiet, after all that had happened the last few days.

The sun was just only up for about an hour when she heard the voices. They were coming up from the south of the trailer, and were getting louder quickly. She checked to make sure Merle was still asleep, then flattened herself against the roof of the trailer. From the angle that they were coming from, they wouldn't see them. She lay there, listening. It sounded like a boy and a girl, both young.

"I think we're following the wrong trail. This one is way too fresh."

"They could be moving. Come on, of all people you should have a little faith."

"We aren't going to find anything, I know that. Felt it in my heart that first night. I've done my grieving, and this is all a waste of time."

"Babe, you may think that, but you're father doesn't. Do it for him, okay?"

A sigh. "Fine. Wanna check that trailer over there?"

"Yeah. Keep your weapon up, who knows what's in there."

Hannah listened to their footsteps continue to move closer. She frowned, unsure of what to do. They sounded harmless, but one never did know. She didn't have to decide though, and Merle (who had woken up) decided for her.

"You take one more step and Imma blow your heads off," he shouted, still lying down out of sight. Hannah heard the footsteps stop, and the unmistakable clicks of guns being readied.

"Who's that? Where are you?" the boys voice called.

"Don't matter who I am or where I am, just turn around and leave. Ain't nothing here you're looking for," Merle called back, pulling Hannah to him. She could feel the tension radiating from his body.

"Look mister, we're not looking for trouble," the boy answered. "We're looking for one of our group. Went missing a few days ago. If you have her, we'd like her back."

Hannah froze. She quickly rolled to face Merle, signing for him to ask who the person was. Merle frowned, but did it anyways.

"Who'd ya lose?"

"A girl," the girl's voice spoke up. "My little sister. Blonde, blue eyes, young. If you've got her or hurt her, I'll kill you."

Hannah's eyes widened. They had to be talking about Beth. They just had to be! She had to tell them. If this was Beth's sister, she deserved to know her sister was dead. Shuffling away from Merle, she threw caution to the wind, and stood up.

Standing on the ground below the trailer was a boy and a girl, both only maybe a few years older than her. The girl was southern looking, a very pretty brunette bearing striking resemblance to Hannah's deceased friend. The boy was Asian, and he looked like he meant business. Both raised their guns when Hannah popped up, but lowered them slightly when they saw she was unarmed.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, squinting his eyes in confusion. "It was a man's voice that was talking."

"You put those guns down, or I'll shoot," Merle appeared beside Hannah, gun up and ready. She watched in surprise as the boy's face suddenly changed into a look of recognition.

"Damn," he breathed out. "Merle?"

Merle cocked his head to the side, the same look slowly dawning on his face. "Glenn?"

_**I liked the Merle reuniting with Glenn scene in the show, so I felt I had to pay tribute to it on here lol. This one is a lot less violent lol.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Sorry for the wait you guys, I've been so busy lately! Hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks for all your reads and reviews!**_

"Well, well, well, now this is a surprise," Merle let out a chuckle, staring down at the two people on the ground. "Good old Glenn, and looks like his pretty girlfriend too. Guess you're tougher then I thought, little man."

Hannah watched the Asian (or Glenn, as she now knew) squint up at Merle in suspicious confusion. "You're not the only one who can survive, Merle. Though I am surprised you made it out of Atlanta."

"Well, the will to live is pretty powerful," Merle smirked. "But hey, enough of this chit chat. Let's get down to the important stuff. Is my baby brother alive?"

Hannah did not miss the hesitation on Glenn's face. It was obvious to her that Glenn knew the answer to that question, but was reluctant to give it. There was bad blood between Merle and this man, which most likely meant there was bad blood between Merle and the whole group (it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Glenn had been a part of Merle's old group). Though he'd never told her about it, she knew something big had gone down with Merle. She'd never pried on how he'd lost his hand, but she could see that Glenn and the group had something to do with it. Despite the fact that she could imagine Merle had probably not been playing nice, it still made her blood hot with anger to think that someone had done something to her man.

"Come on, Short Round," Merle was getting antsy at Glenn's silence. "You gotta tell me. Did my brother make it? If you don't tell me, I'm gonna come down there and beat it out of you!"

"Over my dead body," the girl snarled, whirling her gun to face Merle. "You touch him and I'll put one right between those ugly little eyes of yours."

"Maggie," Glenn warned, reaching out a hand to caution the girl.

"No," Maggie jerked away. "I won't let him threaten you like that!" She clicked the safety on her gun. "Just try to come down here, you bastard!"

Hannah could never remember afterwards what exactly happened. One minute she was standing on the trailer roof, listening to the others, the next she was flying through the air, no thought in her mind but knocking that snotty girl's teeth right down her throat.

The gun went off with a bang as Hannah landed on Maggie, the bullet flying wide of its intended target on the roof. She lost no time in scratching and clawing at the startled girl, who took a couple of nasty hits before shaking off her surprise and fighting back. Hannah was still weak from her ordeal with the men, but her anger made up for a lot. How dare this girl insult Merle like that? Nobody pointed a gun at her man and got away with it!

"Okay, that's enough, girl," Merle's voice said suddenly in her ear, his strong arms wrapping around her middle. She felt herself being gently lifted off the sputtering Maggie, and pinned against Merle's chest. She struggled, still wanting to hit the brown haired girl, but Merle just held her tighter.

"You gonna tell me about my brother now, or do we have to have a repeat of what just happened?" Merle narrowed his eyes at Glenn, who was helping Maggie off of the forest floor.

"I should shoot you and your…whatever she is right where you stand," Glenn glared, cradling Maggie against his side. "She could have killed her!"

"Glenn, I'm fine,' Maggie pushed away from him, brushing her matted hair away from her eyes. She looked right at Hannah, and Hannah was stunned to see not anger in her eyes, but a kind of respect. "She was just protecting what's hers, is all."

"But she- she-" Glenn sputtered out, before being hushed by a stare from his girlfriend. Maggie turned back to Merle and Hannah, thoughtfulness across her face.

"Why don't you two come with us," she said, causing everybody's eyes to widen with shock. "Then you'll see for yourself if your brother is alive or not. Weapons to me though, of course. Can't have you attacking us again."

Hannah felt Merle's arms trembling with tension and excitement. He gently squeezed her once, as if to say _What do ya think? Do we trust em?_

Hannah looked at Maggie, so different yet somehow so similar to her blonde haired sister. How would Beth feel if Hannah didn't trust her sister the same way she trusted her? Hannah felt that Beth was looking down at her, urging her to go with her sister. She squeezed Merle's arms back, saying _Yes, we do. Let's go_.

"Alright," Merle let Hannah go and tossed his gun and the knife extension to his prosthetic to Maggie. "Lead on, fearless leader."

And that was how Hannah found herself trudging along beside Merle through the woods, her hand tucked securely into his. Maggie lead the way, with Merle and Hannah behind her, and Glenn at the rear. Hannah could hear him muttering to himself about "isn't safe" and "could kill us all" and "they are gonna freak". It made her a bit nervous. They were obviously heading towards a group that was hostile towards Merle, and would kill him if they felt he was a threat. She shuddered at the thought, moving closer to Merle. He sensed her uneasiness, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry darlin' ", he whispered down to her. "I won't let them hurt you. No one hurts my girl, remember that."

Hannah nodded, not bothering to tell him that it was him she was worried about, not her. They continued on for a little while longer, until they came upon a large clearing. Merle let out a low whistle. Hannah gasped.

In the middle of the open area stood what could only be a prison. It loomed up against the horizon, massive and intimidating. Chain link fence surrounded the entire building, creating a good wall against any invading walkers. There were a few down at one end of the fence, but they seemed to be distracted. Hannah was impressed. A prison would have been hard work to take over, but a good holding place once you got in.

"Come on," Glenn's voice came from behind her. "Let's get inside before more walkers come."

They made their way down towards what was clearly a gate, a lone blonde man in a prison jumpsuit pacing back and forth behind it. When he saw them coming he immediately stopped his pacing and ran to unlock the gate.

"Did ya find her? Are you okay? Who are these people?" he asked as they quickly shimmied inside, the gate clanging shut behind them.

"We're fine," Glenn replied, his face terse. "Run and get Rick. Tell him we got an old friend come to visit."

The blonde man nodded and ran off. Glenn lead them up through the grassy yard onto the pavement courtyard. Hannah clutched Merle's hand tighter. She had a very uneasy feeling about this…

"Well this day just keeps getting more and more surprising," Merle let out a laugh as they watched an assortment of people exit the prison and come towards them. "Officer Friendly, how are you?"

A tall, grim faced man had come the closet to them, his gun trained on Merle. He had the look and air of authority. Hannah immediately guessed him to be the group's leader. She looked around at the other people gathered. There was the blonde who opened the gate, a gray haired lady holding a baby, a kid of about thirteen, an old man leaning on crutches and a big black guy in a prison jumpsuit. No sign of anybody who could be Merle's brother.

"You survived Atlanta," the tall man stated, squinting in the bright sun. "Course you did, Daryl did say only you could kill you."

Merle chuckled. "He'd be right. Now, your trusty Asian wouldn't tell me the answer, but maybe you can. Is Daryl alive?"

The man snorted. "Like we're going to tell you that. You learned to play nice with others yet?"

Hannah could feel Merle tense up beside her. "I ain't gonna play nice with you if you don't tell me where my brother is."

"We can't trust you," the man held his ground. "You shouldn't even be here." He turned to Glenn, "Why didn't you just shoot him when you had the chance?"

Glenn opened his mouth, but at a sharp glance from Maggie, closed it. He looked at the man and shrugged. The crowd around them said nothing, all of their eyes on the tall man.

"Well whatever," the man sighed. "I'm tired of people butting into this group. You are not one of ours, Merle Dixon. You don't deserve to know if Daryl is alive or dead. You lost that chance back in Atlanta." He raised his gun. "Maybe your brother thought only you could kill you, but I think otherwise."

Hannah's eyes went wide, her heart pounding in pure terror. She watched in horror as the tall man squeezed the trigger on his gun. The bullet seemed to fly in slow motion. Without even thinking about it, she let go of Merle's hand. She looked up at him, his face frozen in a mask of resignation and fear. In that split second (thought it felt like hours), she made her decision.

A flash of blinding pain, the sound of a woman's shrill scream, and then there was blackness.

_**Crazy Rick is still crazy. I think he might stay crazy for the rest of his life lol.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Howdy friends! I feel bad leaving you with that awful cliffhanger last chapter, but sometimes its nessecary to keep you guys hanging! Lol. Hope you enjoy this one!**_

_**Own nothing Walking Dead related.**_

She was dead.

She had to be. Everything was dark and quiet. No sounds, no movement, nothing. Just a terrible pain in her abdomen where the bullet had hit. Wasn't pain supposed to go away after you died? Maybe she wasn't dead after all…

Wait, what was that? That sound? Like a voice almost, very far away. What was it saying? She strained her ears to hear. She had to be alive, if she was hearing things. The voice began to move closer…

"Wake up girl, wake up now. Come on, open your eyes."

She tried to open her mouth, tried to speak to the voice but nothing happened. Her mouth was glued shut. Her eyes wouldn't open either. The pain in her abdomen seemed to increase.

"Can you hear me, Hannah? Please, open your eyes. I'm afraid he'll tear this place apart if you don't. Open your eyes, Hannah. For Merle."

Merle. Merle. MERLE! The pain suddenly reached an excruciating climax, and Hannah's mouth and eyes flew open, a horrible scream renting the air as she awoke back into the land of the living.

"Ah, there we are," the voice she had been hearing spoke softly. "I knew you would wake up."

Hannah found her eyes resting upon an old man with soft eyes and a kindly face, looking at her warmly. He had longish white hair and a wispy white beard. Hannah thought he looked like a Southern Santa Claus. It was obvious she had been taken into the prison after being shot, and for some reason, they had tried to save her. She frowned. Weird people, first shooting at them and then saving her life.

"Took a while to dig the bullet out," the old man nodded towards her stomach. "Lucky for you, it missed all major organs and vessels. Also lucky for you, we'd just found a bunch of medical supplies in the infirmary."

Hannah glanced down at her stomach, a large white bandage covering most of it. She tried to sit up, but the pain was too much, and she fell back against the pillows, groaning.

"You stay in that bed and rest," the old man reached over to pull the coarse gray blanket back over her. "I'll go tell your companion there that you've woken up. Then maybe he'll stop trying to tear the whole place down." He turned and hobbled out the door of the cell.

As if on cue, a yell echoed from somewhere down the hall, followed by what sounded like repeated banging of fists on walls. Hannah sucked in a breath. Merle. She was so happy that he was alive. She had been afraid that they shot at him again after she had gone down. But why was he yelling? What were they doing to him? Why wasn't he here, with her? She pushed herself up, ignoring the searing pain in her stomach. She had to get to Merle. The man who had shot her could be hurting him.

It took her a few minutes, but she finally staggered to the door of her cell. The block was empty, as far as she could see. Merle yelled again, followed by another voice she did not recognize. She followed the sound out of the block and over to the next one. It was hard, painful work, but she would not give up. She had to get to her Merle, if it was the last thing she did.

Finally she reached the door to the next block. Propping herself up against the wall, she snuck a glance around the doorframe.

Merle was standing in the middle of the room, his face red as he yelled obscenities to the men standing across from him. The same group of people that had surrounded them in the courtyard were surrounding him now. Hannah could see his good fist clenching, and veins popping out on his forehead. He was mad. He also looked unhurt. That made Hannah breathe a tiny breath of relief.

One of the men he was yelling at was the man who had shot her. He looked defiant, unmoving. Hannah scowled. She did not like him. There was another man, one she hadn't seen before. He was average height, with a muscular build. He was standing there looking almost helpless, like he didn't know what to do about the situation. One hand came up so he could chew on his thumbnail nervously. Hannah frowned. That habit looked vaguely familiar…..

"You gotta let me see her!" Merle was yelling. "The doc said she's awake, I wanna see her!"

"You'll see her when I say you can see her," the man growled. "You follow my rules now. This isn't a democracy."

"Please," Merle dropped to his knees. "Please. I need to see her. Please!" he looked over to the second man, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Please, baby brother. Do this for your ol' Merle."

Hannah gasped. Baby brother! They'd found Daryl!

As big as that information was, it left her mind immediately when she returned her gaze to Merle's face. It was the face of a broken and desperate man. He was in utter anguish not being able to see her. Longing bubbled up inside of her, as she realized her pain wasn't just from her wound, but from her desire to see him too. She needed to be with her Merle right now, screw the grim man, and Daryl, and anyone else for that matter. She pushed herself up off the wall, and lurched into the room.

She'd only made it about 8 steps before she was engulfed in the warmth of his strong arms. He crushed her gently against his chest, his face buried in her hair. She clung to his bloodstained shirt, tears beginning to stream down her face at the sheer joy of being with him again. He sunk them down to the floor, where he rocked her small body against his, words tumbling freely out of his mouth.

"Thought I'd lost you," he sighed, his good hand smoothing back her red hair. "Thought you were gonna die, right after I'd gotten you back. They wouldn't let me see ya. I was going crazy," he pulled back to look at her, fire blazing in his eyes. "Don't ya ever do anything like that again, ya hear me? My life ain't worth yours. Not now, not ever."

Hannah wanted to tell him his life was worth everything, and that she'd choose to get shot everyday if it meant that his life would be spared. Instead, she reached up and brought his face down to hers, telling him without words how much he meant. His lips were hard and desperate against hers, kissing her as if she'd disappear from his arms at any moment.

"What's this now?" a voice broke into their reunion angrily. "Ya actually start caring about someone?"

The two lovers separated to find Daryl suddenly next to them, his eyes angry and his face stormy. Hannah felt Merle squeeze her a tiny bit tighter.

"Who's this, your little bitch?" Daryl snarled. "She fucking you, brother? Is that why yer so happy she's alive? Damn it, ya couldn't give a damn about me your whole life but suddenly yer all sappy over this woman?"

Merle set Hannah gently on the floor, standing up to face his brother.

"Now look here, little bro." he raised his hands. "I know things ain't been right between us, but that doesn't mean ya gotta go taking shots at Hannah."

"Fuck Hannah!" Daryl yelled. "You've done nothing but beat me down my whole life! I got scars because of ya, Merle! Ya givin her scars? Ya beating her in a drunken rage? What's so special about her that ya can care about her, but not me, yer own kin!"

"Things was different then!" Merle was starting to get angry too. "I was stupid back then, little bro. I did things I ain't proud of, I'll admit it. But I've changed. You'd know it too if ya gave me a chance to talk to ya. Just talk to me, little bro. That's all I ask!"

"Talk?" Daryl snorted. "Ya want to talk? Who are ya? The Merle I know would never want to talk."

"Daryl," the grey haired lady with the baby said softly, taking a step towards the seething man.

"Stay outta this Carol," Daryl growled. "This is between me and my no good brother."

"Come on Daryl," Merle's tone turned to pleading. "Let's go somewhere and hash some shit out. Brother to brother. Away from all these people who don't need to hear a damn thing about us."

Hannah looked at Daryl, who was still seething. She willed him with her mind to take Merle's offer. _Please Daryl, I don't know what your brother was like before, but he's a good man now. Please listen to him. Merle needs you. Please._

"Alright," Daryl conceded, anger still flashing in his eyes. "We'll have ourselves a little brotherly chat. But don't expect any miracles." He turned his gaze to Hannah, his eyes filled with a burning hatred that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"The bitch stays here, though," he snarled, before turning on his heels and stalking out of the prison block, a wary but somewhat relieved Merle trailing behind him.

_**They found Daryl! And he is oh so angry….**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hello all! Sorry this one took so long, with Christmas and everything I was sooo busy! This one is a little short, I hope you all still enjoy it! Thanks again to all of you!**_

_**Own nothing Walking Dead related.**_

It had been hours since Merle and Daryl had left to have their little "brotherly chat". Hannah was sitting in the same place she'd been placed in after they left. She had refused to go lie back down her cell in the other block, so Herschel (the old man's name, she'd learned) had propped her up against the wall, surrounded by as many scratchy prison blankets as he could find. She watched as the other survivors went about their business, thinking about all that had happened since Merle had gone with Daryl.

She'd learned who everybody was, for starters. The old man who doctored her up was called Herschel. She liked him, he reminded her of a wise grandpa. The grey haired lady was Carol, and the baby she carried around was Judith. Carol seemed like a very good mothering type, and Judith was as cute as they come. The young boy was Carl, and the two prisoners Axel and Oscar. They all seemed nice enough. Glenn and Maggie she already knew, and last but not least was the leader man, whose name was Rick. The thought of him made her narrow her eyes. She didn't like him. His face was too grim, and there was a hint of something akin to madness in his eyes. If her and Merle were to stay here, she'd have to keep a close eye on him.

After they'd settled her in and she'd learned their names, there had come the barrage of questions. Who was she? How'd she end up with Merle? Where had they come from? After making it very clear she couldn't tell them out loud, the boy Carl had magically managed to produce a pencil and some paper. And so, with a slightly reluctant air, she'd told them through writing. She told them about finding Merle on the highway, and about living at Woodbury. She told them about Andrea, and how they'd set out to start looking at the farm. She told them about getting kidnapped, getting rescued, and running into Maggie and Glenn. She even told them news she knew they didn't want to hear, that their Beth had been kidnapped too, and died in the escape attempt. The only thing she didn't tell them was about what was going on between her and Merle. She figured they had an idea from that kiss in the other block, but she wasn't about to clarify or elaborate on it.

They'd all left her alone after her story. She assumed it was the need to grieve over their fallen companion, and she respected that. She was content to sit swaddled in her little cocoon and be alone with her own thoughts. Of course, these thoughts centered on Merle. She hoped he was okay with Daryl. It was obvious that Merle and Daryl had a very strained relationship, from things mostly Merle had done. Hannah didn't like to think of Merle hurting his brother, but it was quite clear that he had done so in the past. Now that he was changing and wanting to make amends, Daryl didn't believe him. Hannah wished that she could communicate with him, tell him that Merle was different now. That he could care, and protect and support, maybe even love. But she highly doubted Daryl would even want to look at her. He hated her for her relationship with Merle, and that wasn't something that was overcome easily.

Finally, as the sun was sinking below the horizon, Hannah heard loud footsteps coming into the cell block. She looked up to find Daryl storming through the door, and headed straight towards her. She furrowed her brow. Where was Merle?

Daryl stopped in front of her, crossing his arms and staring into her face. She couldn't quite read the look there. It was part hate, part confusion, and even a little bit of what seemed like resignation. Hannah stared back, not wanting to show him she was nervous. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Carol had taken a step towards them, her face anxious.

"Merle and ya will be spending the night in the other block," Daryl finally said gruffly. "Best get over there." He made no move to help her up.

Hannah sighed. So Merle had survived the talk. What had gone down she knew she'd have to find out from Merle. She braced her hands against the wall, preparing to stand up.

"Oh for pete's sake Daryl, she can't walk there on her own," Carol sighed, appearing at his elbow. She gently pushed him aside and bent over to help Hannah off the ground. "Up you come, sweetie. Careful with your side now."

Hannah groaned as she stood upright, her abdomen throbbing painfully. She clutched onto Carol for support, grateful for the gray haired woman's kindness. Carol settled her arm gently around her waist, the two of the together slowly moving forward. Hannah did not miss the look of disappointment Carol shot to Daryl, nor did she miss the shame in his eyes that it caused. Interesting, she thought. But there was no time to muse on it, as even with Carol's help she had to focus really hard on walking.

After what seemed like a lifetime, they managed to make it to the door of the other cellblock. Merle was at it in a heartbeat, taking her gently from Carol's grasp. She sighed, instantly melting into his warm embrace. She barely heard the door shut, or the key grating in the lock, or Carol's soft retreating footsteps. She was too busy being comforted by Merle's closeness. She hadn't realized just how much it ached to be away from until now.

He picked her up as if she was a ragdoll, being careful not to bump her wound site. He carried her into the largest cell, where he'd taken the two bunk mattresses and laid them on the floor together. Carefully, he lowered her down onto the makeshift bed, making sure she was comfortably placed before settling down beside her, pulling a few of the itchy gray blankets up over them. Hannah instantly felt herself being once again cocooned in his arms, her face pressed into his chest. She let out a happy sigh, which made Merle chuckle.

"Glad to be back with ol' Merle, eh?" he grinned, his remaining hand rubbing her back soothingly. She nodded into his chest, making him let out another bark of laughter. "Rough day with the crew?"

Hannah lifted her face up to look at him, not missing the glimmer of worry behind his smiling face. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to reassure him that her day had been okay. Despite being injured and all of course. She quirked an eyebrow up at him, asking her own question about his day.

Merle's face instantly clouded over. "Ah, so ya wanna know how my brotherly chat went," he sighed. "Well darlin', lets just say we made have made a start to the mendin' of our relationship, but its gonna take a long, long while." He looked down at her, and the clouds lifted somewhat. "But no talk of that tonight, alright? Ya need some good rest."

Hannah nodded, suddenly finding that their close proximity made her not want to rest. It made her want to do something else entirely. Before Merle could try to coax her off into sleep, she leaned herself forward and planted her lips against his.

Good grief, had it really been hours since she'd done this? Had it really been since this morning that she'd felt his lips against hers? As Merle's mouth opened underneath hers, she couldn't believe she had been made to wait this long. If she had her way, she'd be kissing him every single damn hour of every single damn day.

Especially if he was gonna kiss her like this. Hot and opened mouthed, a swirling mess of tongues and teeth fueled by pure, hard lust. It made her whole body tremble, and she couldn't help but let a small, soft moan slip past her lips. It did not go unnoticed by Merle, who let out a pleasured grunt of his own, and kissed her even harder.

She could tell he was trying to be careful with her, trying to keep all his passion up near his mouth and away from the rest of his body. She knew it was because he was afraid of hurting her, of re opening her wound. Damn that wound. If it wasn't there….well she knew what she would be doing (oh who, rather, she snickered to herself). But sex with Merle would have to wait. As much as she wanted it (and oh, did she ever want it), she really did not want any trouble. But as Merle's lower body suddenly brushed against hers, she got a wicked idea. Well, her body might be broken, but her hands sure weren't. And it was obvious Merle needed some good old TLC….

The look of surprise on Merle's face almost made her snort out loud. It turned quickly into one of pleasure and lust as Hannah built up a consistent rhythm. It took all of her willpower not to just stop, rip off both their pants, and climb on top of him. But she restrained, content with the fact that she was able to give Merle, her protecter and hero and, well, boyfriend, she guessed, a good feeling in a world so empty of them. She simply settled her mind on her task, listening happily to his grunts and curses and sighs of her name.

"Shit girl," he panted, when she'd finally removed her hand and they'd cleaned up a bit. "Them hands may be small, but damn if you don't know how to use them."

Hannah giggled, settling herself comfortably back into his side. She felt him turn his head towards her, pressing his lips gently against her temple.

"Just you wait till that wound heals up," he whispered softly, his hot breath fanning her face. "Then you and I are gonna have some real fun."

Hannah fell asleep with a grin on her face.

That wound couldn't heal fast enough.

_**Good grief. Me trying to write anything related to smut turns out weird lol.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hello friends! Thanks for all your continuing support, its greatly appreciated! This chapter was a little weird to write, and it may be a little boring, but I feel it helps the storyline lol. Promise it will get more exciting soon! So I hope you enjoy! **_

The next few days in the prison weren't easy. It was clear that the group was divided on the matter of whether Hannah and Merle should stay or go, and that made tensions run very high. Hannah knew that Rick wanted them gone. She'd overheard him talking to Glenn about how they could convince Daryl about making the decision. Because really, the younger redneck was the tipping point in the whole matter. It was obvious Rick valued him as a member of their little rag tag band, and no conclusion was to be met unless he was the one making it. After all, Merle was his brother. The thought did nothing but worry Hannah. She knew that blood was thicker than water, but she was beginning to wonder who it was that Daryl considered his blood.

He was at home with the group, that she could see. Around them, his scowl lessened, his voice got a little less gruff, his eyes brightened. Merle did not merit the same reaction. When he was let out of their little cellblock (which was only when Rick thought of a job they needed him to do), Merle received only the silent treatment from his brother. Even though he didn't show it, Hannah could tell it hurt Merle, and therefore hurt her in return.

Her other pain, she was glad to report, was doing much better. Herschel had given her some wonderful pain medications, and some new fluffy bandages that cushioned the wound quite nicely. She could now hobble around by herself without too much trouble. She was surprised she was allowed to, but it seemed that Rick thought a little injured girl couldn't do them much damage. So (at Merle's insistence), she spent most of her time with the group in their cell block, strengthening herself and doing whatever little things Carol offered her.

She realized pretty quickly that the group (well, except for Rick and Daryl) really had no animosity towards her. They were all kind and friendly to her. Carol dished her generous food portions. Maggie would come sit and talk to her about her life before the outbreak. Oscar would help her around when she couldn't quite do it herself. Carl let her hold Judith. She appreciated it until nighttime, when she would go back to Merle in their cell, see him alone and rejected. Then anger would stream through her. How dare they assume things about him! How dare they cast him out, when it was clear he was no longer the same person he was before! He had obviously changed so much since they knew him. For pete's sake, he'd changed so much since she'd met him! It made her so mad she'd start to sob, Merle holding her and soothing her, having no idea he was the reason for her tears. He deserved better. He deserved more. And about their fourth night there, after Merle had fallen asleep pressed against her back, she decided she was going to get it for him.

The day started off the same. Hannah was collected for breakfast by Carol, Merle staying in their cell block to eat alone. She ate, then took up some sewing she hadn't finished the day before. Every once and a while, she'd glance up at the block door. She hadn't quite figured out exactly how long each watch was, but she'd noticed that Daryl always took the watch after Glenn, and Glenn had been gone since as soon as breakfast ended. So all she had to do was try to keep herself busy, and wait.

It seemed like a lifetime before Glenn finally came back into the prison. Hannah took a deep breath and slowly raised herself to her feet. She winced as a stab of pain shot through her side. Getting up was still a bit painful. Once she was standing, she began to hobble her way towards the door, hoping everyone would think she was just going to use the bathroom and wouldn't ask any questions. She actually managed to make it out to the prison yard before Carol's voice stopped her.

"Where are you going Hannah?"

Hannah sighed, carefully turning herself around to face the gray haired woman. Carol looked at Hannah, eyebrow raised in waiting. Hannah decided Carol was probably the person she could trust the best, so she raised her arm and pointed up to the watch tower.

"Going to talk to Daryl," Carol stated her thoughts, a small smile playing at her lips. "You aren't his favorite person right now, you know. I don't know if this is such a good idea."

Hannah rolled her eyes. Of course it wasn't a good idea, but it was the best she had. If Merle wanted to repair his relationship with his brother, then she'd do whatever it took to help. Plus, they could have a life here. A much less creepier one than at Woodbury.

"You're going to do it anyway though," Carol sighed, kicking at the dust with her foot. "You must really care about Merle. Which must mean he's changed, since you certainly don't look like the type of girl who would fall for an asshole."

Hannah giggled, nodding her head. She knew Carol would understand. She seemed like the type of woman who believed in second chances. Carol smiled at her, taking a step forward and gently taking a hold of her arm. "Well then, in that case, lets get you up that tower. You've got a lot of convincing to do, and I wouldn't want you to be late for dinner."

This made Hannah giggle again, gladly accepting the older woman's help. She liked Carol. She was strong, funny, caring and a genuinely good person. This rotted world needed more people like her.

It took effort, but the two of them finally managed to get up into the watch tower. Daryl did not hide his look of surprise (or disgust) upon seeing them.

"What's she want?" he growled to Carol, completely ignoring the little redhead. Hannah frowned. Not a good start.

"She wants to talk to you, Daryl," Carol said softly, gently guiding Hannah into the seat beside the hulking redneck. Daryl grimaced and shifted away from her, clearly not comfortable with any sort of close seating arrangements.

"Bitch can't even speak," he muttered, fiddling with a hole in his pants. "How's she gonna talk to me if she can't even speak? And who says I'd wanna listen even if she could?"

"Daryl," Carol warned, her grey eyes flashing. "However Hannah chooses to communicate with you, you will listen to her. She's done nothing to you, except bring your brother back, which is something you've been wishing to do ever since Atlanta. So you listen, or I'm gonna have something to say about it."

Daryl's shoulders slumped in defeat, but his face remained cold. Hannah silently praised Carol's inexplicable power over the redneck. Carol gave Hannah a last look of encouragement, then made her way back down the tower stairs.

Hannah looked at Daryl, who was now glaring daggers a chip in the floor. She reached a slightly shaking hand into her pocket and pulled out some crumpled paper and a pencil stub. She wrote one word, right on the top, and slid the paper across the bench to Daryl. _Here goes nothing._

Daryl gave the paper a disdainful look, but obviously remembering Carol's words, he reached over and picked it up. Hannah watched his face change from anger to confusion.

"Sorry?" he read, the paper trembling in his hands. "Sorry? That's what ya dragged your ass up here to tell me?"

Hannah nodded, pleased he hadn't lashed out at her yet. She quickly smoothed out another piece of paper, and began to write.

Daryl hadn't been there for when she'd told her story to the rest of the group. He didn't know what her and Merle had been through together. She was writing him that story, but not as how she'd told it before. This time, she was telling the whole truth. Nothing left out, nothing glossed over. This was the raw tale of how a little redheaded girl had met a rough and tumble redneck, and what she saw in him as they grew together. This was the story of a once hardened and cruel man, changed by fate and the care of a woman. This was the story of the little pet and her master.

And she apologized. She apologized for how Merle had treated Daryl. She apologized for how his changed demeanor made Daryl sad that he hadn't been like that always. She apologized for Daryl being angry that Merle could care for her, but seemingly could not show the same care to him. She begged too, begged him to let them stay, to forgive his brother, to make the group treat him better. To forge a new beginning, to let scars fade and wounds heal. She wrote until she ran out of paper, then sat back at turned to finally look at the younger Dixon. It was all in his hands now.

Daryl sat staring at the papers in his hands, his face a sea of emotion. It was clear he was struggling, and Hannah was willing to give him time.

"Ya don't got to say sorry for Merle," Darly finally spoke, his voice ten times softer than she'd ever heard it. "Ain't yer fault what he did to me."

Hannah nodded, but made no attempt to communicate again. This was Daryl's time to talk.

"It was hard growin up," Daryl continued, his hands tightening around the papers. "My mama died when I was young. My Pa beat us, both me and Merle. It was okay, for a while, cuz I had Merle. He stood up for me, took a lot of beatings. Then we grew up, and he got into pills. Always high he was, and that's when he started. I got more scars from him than my pa ever gave the two of us combined." He stopped to look at the young girl, his blue eyes piercing into her.

"Hurt to see ya with him, him all caring for ya and shit. Makes me wonder if he coulda cared for me if he hadn't been on drugs. Makes me wonder if I coulda got away from all the pain," he stopped, suddenly realizing he was confessing all his inner turmoil to someone he barely even knew. "Shit, look at me, going all pussy soft and talking about emotions and shit to a girl. Gone damn soft, Daryl Dixon. Shit. Fuck. FUCK."

Hannah let out a small giggle. Daryl glared at her, but that only made her giggle louder.

"Quit yer gigglin'", he growled. "Can't believe I just told ya all that, shit, only one other person knows about all that shit. Damn woman got it out of me, just like you did."

Hannah grinned, knowing exactly which woman he was talking about. She shifted a little closer to him on the bench, delighted that he didn't shuffle away. He was still glaring at her, but his shoulders had relaxed, and that was a good sign.

"Tell ya what," Daryl stared her down, blue eyes boring into green. "Ya don't mention this girly confessing shit to anyone, especially not Merle, and I'll consider all the stuff ya wrote down. The whole forgiving my brother, letting you stay, getting him better treatment shit. For a backwards mute little bitch, you sure do know how to tell a story."

Hannah made a motion of zipping her lips. She thought she saw the corner of Daryl's mouth twitch, but he quickly slipped back into his signature scowl.

"Damn this whole mess, I need to get shit faced drunk-again," he grumbled, getting up off the bench and heading to the stairs. "Maybe Oscar found some booze in the warden's office…"

Hannah watched him lumber down the stairs, her face stretching into a grin. He may not know it, but Daryl was on his way to doing everything she'd asked of him. She'd seen it in his eyes, when he's stared at her. It was there, behind the anger and annoyance and hurt. It was the spark of hope, the wonder if she was right and the desire to find out. Her grin grew.

Damn, she was good with Dixon men.

_**Gah, weird! Writing Daryl is hard, even though I love love love love him to pieces.**_


End file.
